So when Neighbors left Washington for the University of Arkansas this offseason — returning to his native state and paying Washington a buyout of $1 million — McDonald never contemplated trekking southeast.

The University of Arizona, and a staff led by head coach Adia Barnes, who McDonald already had a relationship with, made more sense.

“No, he’s too far,” said McDonald, a 2016 Brookside Christian graduate, on the potential of following Neighbors to Fayetteville, Arkansas. “I’m a real family person. I just wanted to be closer to my family.”

Indeed, McDonald has family in Fresno and Tucson, Arizona, where the Wildcats play. The All-Pacific-12 Conference freshman team selection will sit out her sophomore season per NCAA rules. She never considered playing junior college ball for a year and returning to Division I, which is allowable.

For McDonald finding her new home was more important.

“I wanted to be with coaches who make me feel comfortable,” said McDonald, who got to know the Wildcats’ staff during her high school recruiting days. “I instantly liked ‘U of A’ and how they have done it.”

McDonald, The Record’s All-Area Player of the Year in 2014-15 and 2015-16, guided Brookside Christian to a NorCal championship in 2015 and a Sac-Joaquin Section title in 2016.

Last season she was twice named the Pac-12’s Freshman of the Week and was the third-leading scorer on the Huskies behind All-Americans Kelsey Plum and Chantel Osahor. McDonald averaged nearly 10 points per game and shot 47 percent from the field. She scored a season-high 23 points against Cal State Northridge and posted 18 in a win over Oklahoma in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

“Aari is a proven winner,” Barnes said, according to the Arizona athletics website. “She will impact us immediately both on and off the court. Not only is she a special player, she is also a special person. Aari will add to the championship culture that we've begun to establish here at Arizona."

Arizona hasn’t seen the same success of Pac-12 powers like Washington lately — the Wildcats haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2005 — but has a dynamic recruiting class on the way.

McDonald is one of four transfers added in about the past month. While McDonald is not one to sit still, she has experienced being sidelined from the game before.

She played for Fresno-Bullard as a high school freshman, and had to sit her sophomore season after transferring to Brookside Christian.